The History Show

Gallipoli 100

The History Show and the organisers of the annual Hay Literary Festival in Kells have joined forces, to launch a commemorative event "Gallipoli 100", marking the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the ill-fated WW1 Dardanelles campaign. All events will take place in the Church of Ireland, Cannon St, Kells. It will run from the 24th to the 26th of April 2015, the centenary of the first landings by troops on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey.

The three-day programme of events will commence on the evening of Friday, 24th April with the Francis Ledwidge Memorial Lecture, delivered by the distinguished Irish WW1 historian Philip Orr.

Click on the links below to view or download more information, and a draft schedule of events.

The Irish and World War One

DO YOU HAVE A RELATIVE WHO FOUGHT IN GALLIPOLI?

Close to 15,000 Irishmen fought in Gallipoli during World War I. Almost 4,000 of these soldiers died. Three quarters of the fatalities served in the Volunteer 10th (Irish) Division. This is a staggering fatality rate of almost 27%.

Do you have an ancestor who fought with the Australian forces at Gallipoli?

We’d like to include your stories in our special Gallipoli centenary programme in April. PleaseEmail: history@rte.ie

The History Show Sunday 26 May 2013

The History Show

On this evening’s programme, we’ll be discussing our History Show book club choice for May- ‘The Outer Edge of Ulster’ by Hugh Dorian. Historian Sinéad McCoole tells us about the Jackie Clarke collection and we mark the 90th anniversary of end of the Irish Civil War.

Share:

The History Show Book Club- ‘The Outer Edge of Ulster’ by Hugh Dorian.

Life in 19th century Donegal could be, to quote Thomas Hobbes, ‘nasty, brutish and short’. And that was at the best of times, in the most convivial places. The Fanad peninsula was neither. It is situated on the far side of Lough Swilly to the Inishowen peninsula.

With much of the land owned by one of the most oppressive landlords in the country, William Sydney, the 3rd earl of Leitrim, the people of Fanaid, to paraphrase the words of Henry David Thoreau, ‘led lives of quiet desperation and went to the grave with the song still in them.’

Except for Hugh Dorian, clerk, schoolmaster, whose ‘song’ was a fascinating memoir of the area through most of the Victorian period. His portrayal of Fanad from the 1830’s to the 1890s has finally been published, almost a century after his death, by Lilliput press, in an edition edited by Breandan Mac Suibhne of the University of Notre Dame, and Professor David Dickson of Trinity College, Dublin.

It was our History Show book club choice for May and Myles was joined by historians Roisin Higgins, Arlene Crampsie and Ciarán Reilly.

Keywords:

Share:

The Jackie Clarke Collection

Gertrude O’Reilly McHale, a history fan and a friend of Jackie Clarke introduced this piece on the impressive collection of this important Mayo man.

Jackie Clarke amassed more than 100,000 items spanning 400 years during his lifetime

Many are of huge historical significance including artefacts associated with the likes of Wolfe Tone and Michael Collins as well as maps, posters, books, cartoons- all from various different periods and personal items from the leaders of the 1916 rising

It’s perhaps the most important collection of Irish historic material and it’s gone on public display in Ballina Co Mayo

To learn more about the collection, Myles was joined by Sinéad McCoole, historian and curator of the Jackie Clarke collection.

Keywords:

Share:

The 90th Anniversary of the end of the Civil War

Like all civil wars, the one fought in Ireland in 1922 and 1923 was a bleak time for the country as it underwent a bitter struggle of conflicting ideologies.

The eleven month long conflict pitted brother against brother and forged a long-lasting divide in Irish politics. The actions of the war’s leaders, Michael Collins and Eamon De Valera are still a matter of extreme disagreement. This week marks the 90th anniversary of the end of the conflict.

Lorcan Clancy explored how this dark chapter of Irish history drew to a close.

Myles was also joined in studio by historian Conor Mulvagh, who looked at the repercussions of this bitter conflict.

Keywords:

Share:

About The Show

Bringing the past to life! Discover how our world was shaped as Myles Dungan and guests explore events ranging from medieval times to the recent past.

We want to help explain ourselves to ourselves. We will search out fresh angles on familiar topics, seek out the unfamiliar and will not shy away from bizarre or controversial issues. Our ultimate goal is to make The History Show the primary port of call for those with an intense or even a modest interest in the subject. We want to entice the casual and the curious to join us in celebrating the past.